HARQ operation for broadcast in FR2

ABSTRACT

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, apparatus, and computer readable medium for wireless communications for generating, by a network entity for one or more user equipments (UEs), a downlink control information (DCI) for modifying a transmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCI including at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number; and transmitting, by the network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/928,293 entitled “HARQ OPERATION FOR BROADCAST IN FR2” filed Oct.30, 2019, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) operationsfor multicast/broadcast transmissions for millimeter wave band (e.g.,FR2).

Introduction

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of suchmultiple-access technologies include code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standardis 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadbandevolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) tomeet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security,scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and otherrequirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobilebroadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultrareliable low latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR maybe based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There exists aneed for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvementsmay also be applicable to other multi-access technologies and thetelecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

Due to the increasing demand for wireless communications, there is adesire to improve the efficiency of wireless communication networktechniques.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

An example implementation includes a method of wireless communication,including generating, by a network entity for one or more userequipments (UEs), a downlink control information (DCI) for modifying atransmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCI including at leastone hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number; andtransmitting, by a network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding the at least one HARQ process number.

Another example implementation includes an apparatus for wirelesscommunication, including a processor and a memory in communication withthe processor. The memory storing instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to generate, by a network entity forone or more UEs, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of the one ormore UEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number; andtransmit, by a network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCI includingthe at least one HARQ process number.

Another example implementation includes an apparatus for wirelesscommunication, including means for generating, by a network entity forone or more UEs, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of the one ormore UEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number; and meansfor transmitting, by a network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding the at least one HARQ process number.

Another example implementation includes a non-statutorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions for wirelesscommunication, executable by a processor to generate, by a networkentity for one or more UEs, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme ofthe one or more UEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number;and transmit, by a network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding the at least one HARQ process number.

Another example implementation includes a method of wirelesscommunication, including receiving, by a UE from a network entity, a DCIfor modifying a transmission scheme of one or more UEs, the DCIincluding at least one HARQ process number; and modifying, by the UE,the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQprocess number.

Another example implementation includes an apparatus for wirelesscommunication, including a processor and a memory in communication withthe processor. The memory storing instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to receive, by a UE from a networkentity, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of one or more UEs,the DCI including at least one HARQ process number; and modify, by theUE, the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQprocess number.

Another example implementation includes an apparatus for wirelesscommunication, including means for receiving, by a UE from a networkentity, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of one or more UEs,the DCI including at least one HARQ process number; and modifying, bythe UE, the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the at leastHARQ process number.

Another example implementation includes a non-statutorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions for wirelesscommunication, executable by a processor to receive, by a UE from anetwork entity, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of one or moreUEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number; and modify, bythe UE, the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the at leastHARQ process number.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are diagrams illustrating examples of a first5G/NR frame, DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe, a second 5G/NR frame,and UL channels within a 5G/NR subframe, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and userequipment (UE) in an access network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of single-cell broadcastingin LTE and 5G NR.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of single-cell broadcastingincluding multicast in TDM.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unicast retransmissionbased on an initial transmission.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication of anexample of a network entity configuring a HARQ process numberingseparately for multicast, broadcast, and unicast.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication of anexample of a UE receiving a HARQ process numbering separately formulticast, broadcast, and unicast.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a UE, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base station, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits,processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”).These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computersoftware, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements areimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software may be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software components, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage mediamay be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise arandom-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of theaforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other mediumthat can be used to store computer executable code in the form ofinstructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network 100 configured for configuring a HARQprocess numbering separately for multicast, broadcast, and unicast. Thewireless communications system (also referred to as a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN)) includes base stations 102, UEs 104, an Evolved PacketCore (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G Core (5GC)).

In certain aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to operatecommunication component 198 and/or configuration component 240 toreceive, from a network entity 102, a downlink control information (DCI)for modifying a transmission scheme of one or more UEs, the DCIincluding at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processnumber; and to modify the transmission scheme based on the DCI includingthe at least HARQ process number.

Correspondingly, in certain aspects, the network entity 102 (e.g., basestation) may be configured to operate communication component 199 and/orconfiguration component 241 to generate a DCI for modifying atransmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCI including at leastone HARQ process number; and to transmit the DCI including the at leastone HARQ process number.

The base stations 102 may include macrocells (high power cellular basestation) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). Themacrocells include base stations. The small cells include femtocells,picocells, and microcells.

The base stations 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to asEvolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) TerrestrialRadio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 throughbackhaul links 132 (e.g., S1 interface). The base stations 102configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN(NG-RAN)) may interface with core network 190 through backhaul links184. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may performone or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radiochannel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, headercompression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dualconnectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setupand release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS)messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network(RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriberand equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging,positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 maycommunicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or corenetwork 190) with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2interface). The backhaul links 132, 134, and 184 may be wired orwireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlappinggeographic coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102′ may havea coverage area 110′ that overlaps the coverage area 110 of one or moremacro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell andmacrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneousnetwork may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which mayprovide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group(CSG). The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and theUEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link)transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL)(also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use multiple-input andmultiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatialmultiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communicationlinks may be through one or more carriers. The base stations 102/UEs 104may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz)bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to atotal of Yx MHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in eachdirection. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other.Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL(e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). Thecomponent carriers may include a primary component carrier and one ormore secondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may bereferred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carriermay be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device(D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use theDL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or moresidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel(PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physicalsidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel(PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2Dcommunications systems, such as for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia,Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi accesspoint (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 viacommunication links 154 in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. Whencommunicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152/AP 150may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating inorder to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensedfrequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum,the small cell 102′ may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensedfrequency spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102′,employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage toand/or increase capacity of the access network.

A base station 102, whether a small cell 102′ or a large cell (e.g.,macro base station), may include an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another typeof base station. Some base stations, such as gNB 180 may operate in atraditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies,and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When thegNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may bereferred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) ispart of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters.Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. NearmmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHzand 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications usingthe mmW/near mmW radio frequency band (e.g., 3 GHz-300 GHz) hasextremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base station 180 mayutilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremelyhigh path loss and short range.

The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 inone or more transmit directions 182′. The UE 104 may receive thebeamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receivedirections 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to thebase station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or morereceive directions. The base station 180/UE 104 may perform beamtraining to determine the best receive and transmit directions for eachof the base station 180/UE 104. The transmit and receive directions forthe base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit andreceive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, otherMMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast MulticastService (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC)170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be incommunication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 isthe control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 andthe EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connectionmanagement. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferredthrough the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDNGateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation aswell as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 areconnected to the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include theInternet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS StreamingService, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionsfor MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serveas an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used toauthorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMSGateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN)area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible forsession management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS relatedcharging information.

The core network 190 may include a Access and Mobility ManagementFunction (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF)194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be incommunication with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 isthe control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 andthe core network 190. Generally, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow andsession management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets aretransferred through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP addressallocation as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to theIP Services 197. The IP Services 197 may include the Internet, anintranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service,and/or other IP services.

The base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved NodeB (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio basestation, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic serviceset (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit reception point(TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 providesan access point to the EPC 160 or core network 190 for a UE 104.Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimediadevice, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), acamera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, avehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchenappliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, adisplay, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump,toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referredto as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit,a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, awireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, amobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, awireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobileclient, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

FIGS. 2A-2D include diagrams of example frame structures and resourcesthat may be utilized in communications between the base stations 102,the UEs 104, and/or the secondary UEs (or sidelink UEs) 110 described inthis disclosure. FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of afirst subframe within a 5G/NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. FIG. 2Cis a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a5G/NR frame structure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an exampleof UL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. The 5G/NR frame structure may beFDD in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier systembandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated foreither DL or UL, or may be TDD in which for a particular set ofsubcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set ofsubcarriers are dedicated for both DL and UL. In the examples providedby FIGS. 2A, 2C, the 5G/NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, withsubframe 4 being configured with slot format 28 (with mostly DL), whereD is DL, U is UL, and X is flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe3 being configured with slot format 34 (with mostly UL). While subframes3, 4 are shown with slot formats 34, 28, respectively, any particularsubframe may be configured with any of the various available slotformats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are all DL, UL, respectively. Other slotformats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. UEs areconfigured with the slot format (dynamically through DL controlinformation (DCI), or semi-statically/statically through radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling) through a received slot format indicator (SFI).Note that the description infra applies also to a 5G/NR frame structurethat is TDD.

Other wireless communication technologies may have a different framestructure and/or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or moretime slots. Subframes may also include mini-slots, which may include 7,4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on theslot configuration. For slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14symbols, and for slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols.The symbols on DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. Thesymbols on UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) ordiscrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (alsoreferred to as single carrier frequency-division multiple access(SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to a singlestream transmission). The number of slots within a subframe is based onthe slot configuration and the numerology. For slot configuration 0,different numerologies μ 0 to 5 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots,respectively, per subframe. For slot configuration 1, differentnumerologies 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots, respectively, persubframe. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and numerology μ, thereare 14 symbols/slot and 2^(μ) slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing andsymbol length/duration are a function of the numerology. The subcarrierspacing may be equal to 2^(μ)*15 kHz, where μ is the numerology 0 to 5.As such, the numerology μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and thenumerology μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480 kHz. The symbollength/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. FIGS.2A-2D provide an example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols perslot and numerology μ=0 with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacingis 15 kHz and symbol duration is approximately 66.7 μs.

A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each timeslot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs(PRBs)) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid isdivided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bitscarried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot)signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS)(indicated as R_(x) for one particular configuration, where 100x is theport number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channelstate information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation atthe UE. The RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS), beamrefinement RS (BRRS), and phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframeof a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCIwithin one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includingnine RE groups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in anOFDM symbol. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol2 of particular subframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE 104 todetermine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. Asecondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 ofparticular subframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine aphysical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Basedon the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identitygroup number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI).Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of theaforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), whichcarries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped withthe PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block. TheMIB provides a number of RBs in the system bandwidth and a system framenumber (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries userdata, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH suchas system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as Rfor one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations arepossible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE maytransmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSfor the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may betransmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCHDM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending onwhether short or long PUCCHs are transmitted and depending on theparticular PUCCH format used. Although not shown, the UE may transmitsounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be used by a base stationfor channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent schedulingon the UL.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframeof a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration.The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as schedulingrequests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrixindicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. ThePUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a bufferstatus report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and/or UCI.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with aUE 350 in an access network, where the base station 310 may be anexample implementation of base station 102 and where UE 350 may be anexample implementation of UE 104. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160may be provided to a controller/processor 375. The controller/processor375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes aradio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service dataadaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol(PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium accesscontrol (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375 provides RRC layerfunctionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g.,MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRCconnection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRCconnection release), inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, andmeasurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layerfunctionality associated with header compression/decompression, security(ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification),and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated withthe transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC servicedata units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering ofRLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mappingbetween logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MACSDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs,scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ,priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer,may include error detection on the transport channels, forward errorcorrection (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels,modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antennaprocessing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signalconstellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binaryphase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK),M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier,multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/orfrequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse FastFourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a timedomain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded toproduce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channelestimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme,as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derivedfrom a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted bythe UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a differentantenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX maymodulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream fortransmission.

At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive(RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatialprocessing on the information to recover any spatial streams destinedfor the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350,they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbolstream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream fromthe time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbolstream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on eachsubcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated bydetermining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted bythe base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physicalchannel. The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2functionality.

The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signalprocessing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 359 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DLtransmission by the base station 310, the controller/processor 359provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs,demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting,error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used bythe TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antenna352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulatean RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respectiveantenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

The controller/processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from thecontroller/processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 375 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and thecontroller/processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects inconnection with communication component 198 of FIG. 1 .

At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and thecontroller/processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects inconnection with communication component 199 of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 4-9 , the described features generally relate tohybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) operations formulticast/broadcast transmissions for millimeter wave band (e.g., FR2).For example, 5G mobile technology utilizes a variety of frequency bandswithin ranges known as FR1 below 7.225 GHz and FR2 above 24.250 GHz forthe 5G New Radio, 5G NR. The higher frequency bands in range FR2 areaimed at providing short range very high data rate capability for the 5Gradio. With 5G anticipated to carry much higher speed data, theadditional bandwidth of these higher frequency bands will be needed.

In an aspect, in LTE, multicast and/or broadcast transmissions aresupported as multimedia broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) orsingle-cell point to multipoint (SC-PTM). In LTE, multimedia broadcastmulticast services (MBMS) may be sent in a MBSFN subframe over a MBSFNsynchronization area (e.g., multiple cells), the SC-PTM may be moreflexible to schedule in normal PDSCH subframe within a single cell, andneither MBMS or SC-PTM having any HARQ-ACK (or ACK/NACK) feedback.

In an aspect, for 5G NR, enhancements to multicast and broadcasttransmissions are desired. For example, ACK/NACK feedback may supportdelay-sensitive and high reliability applications in addition to relaxedinitial BLER target for increased capability.

The present disclosure relates generally to current issues multicast andbroadcast transmissions. For example, in an aspect, the presentdisclosure includes a method, apparatus, and non-statutory computerreadable medium for wireless communications for configuring a HARQprocess numbering separately for multicast, broadcast, and unicast. Theaspects include generating, by a network entity for one or more userequipments (UEs), a downlink control information (DCI) for modifying atransmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCI including at leastone hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number. The aspectsfurther include transmitting, by a network entity to the one or moreUEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of single-cell broadcastingin LTE and 5G NR. For example, diagram 400 illustrates a single-cellbroadcast scenario in LTE in which analog beamforming is used ascompared to a single-cell broadcast in NR with analog beamforming. Inthis example, a single-cell broadcast for LTE occurs without adaptiveanalog beamforming. The network entity (e.g., gNB) may send the samedata to all UEs in the cell at the same time (e.g., concurrently). Thenetwork entity may transmission a single PDCCH transmission along with asingle PDSCH transmission.

In an aspect, diagram 400 illustrates a single-cell broadcast for 5G NRFR2 with analog beamforming. For example, diagram 400 illustratesimplementations when only one analog beam may be transmitted at a singletime and when multiple analog beams can be transmitted simultaneously.The network entity may send the same data to only a portion of the UEsat a single time, and multiple instances of transmission of backwardcompatible (BC) data are required. The network entity may transmit asingle PDCCH transmission along with a multiple PDSCH transmissions.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of single-cell broadcastingincluding multiple multicast in time division multiplexing (TDM). Forexample, diagram 500 illustrates a comparison of a single-cell broadcastfor LTE without analog beamforming, and a single-cell broadcast for NRFR2 with analog beamforming. In an example, single-cell broadcast forLTE without analog beamforming corresponds to a one-shot broadcast. Inthis implementation, link adaptation may be unnecessary, HARQ may beunnecessary, and even though HARQ is assumed to be used, the broadcastmay be retransmitted as well.

In an aspect, single-cell broadcast for NR FR2 with analog beamformingcorresponds to multiple multicast transmission in TDM. In this example,link adaptation per group may be enabled, HARQ may be enabled, andunicasting the retransmission only to the required UE in certainscenarios may be enabled.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unicast retransmissionbased on an initial transmission. For example, diagram 600 illustratesunicasting the retransmission only to the required UE in certainscenarios may be enabled. In this example, the initial transmission maybe multicast with group-specific beams. The retransmission may beunicast with a UE-specific beam.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a network entity (e.g., the base station 102;the apparatus 310; the controller/processor 375, which may include thememory 376, processor(s) 912, which may include the memory 916, modem940 and which may be the entire base station 102 or a component of thebase station 102, such as the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370,and/or the transceiver 902) in combination with the communicationcomponent 199/configuration component 241.

At 702, method 700 includes generating, by a network entity for one ormore user equipments (UEs), a downlink control information (DCI) formodifying a transmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processnumber. In an aspect, the base station 102 and/or the communicationcomponent 199/configuration component 241 may be configured to generate,for one or more UEs, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme of theone or more UEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number. Assuch, the base station 102 and/or the communication component199/configuration component 241, e.g., in conjunction with thecontroller/processor 375, which may include the memory 376, processor(s)912, which may include the memory 916, modem 940 and which may be theentire base station 102 or a component of the base station 102, such asthe TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and/or the transceiver 902may define a means for generating, for one or more UEs, a DCI formodifying a transmission scheme of the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding at least one HARQ process number.

At 704, method 700 includes transmitting, by a network entity to the oneor more UEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number. Inan aspect, the base station 102 and/or the communication component199/configuration component 241 may be configured to transmit, to theone or more UEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number.As such, the base station 102 and/or the communication component199/configuration component 241, e.g., in conjunction with thecontroller/processor 375, which may include the memory 376, processor(s)912, which may include the memory 916, modem 940 and which may be theentire base station 102 or a component of the base station 102, such asthe TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and/or the transceiver 902may define a means for transmitting, by a network entity to the one ormore UEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number.

In an example of method 700, the at least one HARQ process numbercorresponds to a UE-specific HARQ process number for enabling andconfiguring unicast transmissions.

In another example, the at least one HARQ process number corresponds toa common HARQ process number for enabling and configuring broadcasttransmissions. For example, the at least one HARQ process numbercorresponds to one or more broadcast-designated bits in addition to aplurality of unicast-designated bits, the one or morebroadcast-designated bits configuring the broadcast transmissions.Further, each of the at least one HARQ process number includes a firstportion of bits designated for unicast transmissions corresponding to aUE-specific HARQ process number and a second portion of bits designatedfor the broadcast transmissions corresponding to a common HARQ processnumber.

In an example of method 700, the at least one HARQ process numberincludes a subset of HARQ process numbers designated for both multicasttransmissions and broadcast transmissions. Additionally, the at leastone HARQ process number corresponds to a per-group HARQ process numberfor multicast transmissions.

In an example of method 700, the DCI includes a HARQ process numberfield indicating the at least one HARQ process number based on a type ofradio network temporary identifier (RNTI). For example, the HARQ processnumber field corresponding to a unicast transmission is scrambled by acell RNTI (C-RNTI). Further, the HARQ process number field correspondingto at least one of a multicast transmission or a broadcast transmissionis scrambled by a group RNTI (G-RNTI).

At 706, method 700 includes receiving, by the network entity from theone or more UEs, a NACK in response to transmitting the DCI. In anaspect, the base station 102 and/or the communication component199/configuration component 241 may be configured to receive, from theone or more UEs, a NACK in response to transmitting the DCI. As such,the base station 102 and/or the communication component199/configuration component 241, e.g., in conjunction with thecontroller/processor 375, which may include the memory 376, processor(s)912, which may include the memory 916, modem 940 and which may be theentire base station 102 or a component of the base station 102, such asthe TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and/or the transceiver 902may define a means for receiving, by the network entity from the one ormore UEs, a NACK in response to transmitting the DCI.

At 708, method 700 includes retransmitting, by the network entity to theone or more UEs, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process numberbased on at least a unicast mode or a multicast mode in response toreceiving the NACK. In an aspect, the base station 102 and/or thecommunication component 199/configuration component 241 may beconfigured to retransmit, to the one or more UEs, the DCI including theat least one HARQ process number based on at least a unicast mode or amulticast mode in response to receiving the NACK. As such, the basestation 102 and/or the communication component 199/configurationcomponent 241, e.g., in conjunction with the controller/processor 375,which may include the memory 376, processor(s) 912, which may includethe memory 916, modem 940 and which may be the entire base station 102or a component of the base station 102, such as the TX processor 316,the RX processor 370, and/or the transceiver 902 may define a means forretransmitting, by the network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCIincluding the at least one HARQ process number based on at least aunicast mode or a multicast mode in response to receiving the NACK.

In an example, method 700 includes determining whether multiple NACKsare received from a plurality of the one or more UEs; and whereinretransmitting the DCI further comprises retransmitting the DCI usingG-RNTI based on a determination that multiple NACKs are received fromthe plurality of the one or more UEs.

In an example of method 700, the DCI includes an indication of theretransmission. The DCI corresponds to a special set of informationwhich schedules downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) or uplink datachannel (e.g., PUSCH). For example, the DCI includes a plurality ofTCI/QCLs.

In an example, method 700 includes determining that only a single NACKis received from the one or more UEs; and wherein retransmitting the DCIfurther comprises retransmitting the DCI using at least one G-RNTI orC-RNTI. For example, retransmitting the DCI using at least one of theG-RNTI or C-RNTI further comprises retransmitting using the G-RNTIcorresponding to a multicast mode.

In an example of method 700, the DCI includes a single TCI/QCL. Forexample, the DCI includes one or more TCI/QCL associated with at leastone of multicast beams or broadcast beams common for at least one ormore of the UEs. Additionally, retransmitting the DCI further comprisesretransmitting the DCI in at least one of a common search space or aUE-specific search space. Further, the UE-specific search space enablesonly a specified-UE of the one or more UEs to listen for the DCI.

In an example of method 700, retransmitting the DCI using at least oneof the G-RNTI or C-RNTI further comprising scrambling the DCI using theC-RNTI corresponding to a unicast mode. For example, the DCI includesone or more TCI/QCL associated with the UE. Further, UE-specific unicastbeams are narrower than common multicast/broadcast beams.

In an example of method 700, the DCI indicates that the at least oneHARQ process number is associated with at least one of multicast orbroadcast data based on determining that the transmission of the DCIoccurred in multicast mode by G-RNTI and a retransmission of the DCIoccurred in a unicast mode by C-RNTI. For example, the DCI explicitly orimplicitly indicates that the at least one HARQ process number isassociated with the at least one of multicast or broadcast data.Further, the DCI includes at least one additional bit or a reserved bitfor indicating that the at least one HARQ process number is associatedwith the at least one of multicast or broadcast data. Additionally, theDCI includes a repurposed field for indicating that the at least oneHARQ process number is associated with the at least one of multicast orbroadcast data. Further, the at least one HARQ process number includes afirst group associated with broadcast transmissions and a second groupassociated with unicast transmissions.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104; the apparatus 350;the controller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360,processor(s) 912, which may include the memory 916, modem 940 and whichmay be the entire UE 104 or a component of the UE 104, such as the TXprocessor 368, the RX processor 356, and/or the transceiver 902) incombination with the communication component 198/configuration component240.

At 802, method 800 includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from anetwork entity, a downlink control information (DCI) for modifying atransmission scheme of one or more UEs, the DCI including at least onehybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number. In an aspect, theUE 104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component240 may be configured to receive, from a network entity, a DCI formodifying a transmission scheme of one or more UEs, the DCI including atleast one HARQ process number. As such, the UE 104 and/or thecommunication component 198/configuration component 240, e.g., inconjunction with controller/processor 359, which may include the memory360, processor(s) 912, which may include the memory 916, modem 940, TXprocessor 368, and transceiver 902 may define a means for receiving, bya UE from a network entity, a DCI for modifying a transmission scheme ofone or more UEs, the DCI including at least one HARQ process number.

At 804, method 800 includes modifying, by the UE, the transmissionscheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQ process number. Inan aspect, the UE 104 and/or the communication component198/configuration component 240 may be configured to modify thetransmission scheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQ processnumber. As such, the UE 104 and/or the communication component198/configuration component 240, e.g., in conjunction withcontroller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360, processor(s)512, which may include the memory 916, modem 940, RX processor 356, andtransceiver 902 may define a means for modifying, by the UE, thetransmission scheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQ processnumber.

At 806, method 800 includes transmitting, by the UE to the networkentity, a NACK in response to receiving the DCI. In an aspect, the UE104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component 240may be configured to transmit, to the network entity, a NACK in responseto receiving the DCI. As such, the UE 104 and/or the communicationcomponent 198/configuration component 240, e.g., in conjunction withcontroller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360, processor(s)512, which may include the memory 916, modem 940, RX processor 356, andtransceiver 902 may define a means for transmitting, by the UE to thenetwork entity, a NACK in response to receiving the DCI.

At 808, method 800 includes receiving, by the UE from the networkentity, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process number based onat least a unicast mode or a multicast mode in response to transmittingthe NACK. In an aspect, the UE 104 and/or the communication component198/configuration component 240 may be configured to receive, from thenetwork entity, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process numberbased on at least a unicast mode or a multicast mode in response totransmitting the NACK. As such, the UE 104 and/or the communicationcomponent 198/configuration component 240, e.g., in conjunction withcontroller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360, processor(s)512, which may include the memory 916, modem 940, RX processor 356, andtransceiver 902 may define a means for receiving, by the UE from thenetwork entity, the DCI including the at least one HARQ process numberbased on at least a unicast mode or a multicast mode in response totransmitting the NACK.

In an example of method 800, the at least one HARQ process numbercorresponds to a UE-specific HARQ process number for enabling andconfiguring unicast transmissions. For example, the at least one HARQprocess number corresponds to a common HARQ process number for enablingand configuring broadcast transmissions. Further, the common HARQprocess number includes one or more broadcast-designated bits inaddition to a plurality of unicast-designated bits, the one or morebroadcast-designated bits configuring the broadcast transmissions.Additionally, the common HARQ process number includes a first portion ofbits designated for unicast transmissions and a second portion of bitsdesignated for the broadcast transmissions. Further, the at least oneHARQ process number includes a subset of HARQ process numbers designatedfor both multicast transmissions and broadcast transmissions.

In an example of method 800, the at least one HARQ process numbercorresponds to a per-group HARQ process number for multicasttransmissions. For example, the DCI includes a HARQ process number fieldindicating the at least one HARQ process number based on a type of radionetwork temporary identifier (RNTI). Further, the HARQ process numberfield corresponding to a unicast transmission is scrambled by a C-RNTI.Additionally, the HARQ process number field corresponding to at leastone of a multicast transmission or a broadcast transmission is scrambledby a G-RNTI.

In an example of method 800, the DCI indicates that the at least oneHARQ process number is associated with at least one of multicast orbroadcast data based on determining that the transmission of the DCIoccurred in multicast mode by G-RNTI and a retransmission of the DCIoccurred in a unicast mode by C-RNTI. For example, the DCI explicitly orimplicitly indicates that the at least one HARQ process number isassociated with the at least one of multicast or broadcast data.Additionally, the DCI includes at least one additional bit or a reservedbit for indicating that the at least one HARQ process number isassociated with the at least one of multicast or broadcast data.Further, the DCI includes a repurposed field for indicating that the atleast one HARQ process number is associated with the at least one ofmulticast or broadcast data. For example, the at least one HARQ processnumber includes a first group associated with broadcast transmissionsand a second group associated with unicast transmissions.

Referring to FIG. 9 , one example of an implementation of UE 104 mayinclude a variety of components, some of which have already beendescribed above and are described further herein, including componentssuch as one or more processors 912 and memory 916 and transceiver 902 incommunication via one or more buses 944, which may operate inconjunction with modem 940 and/or communication component 198 for HARQoperations for multicast/broadcast transmissions for millimeter waveband (e.g., FR2).

In an aspect, the one or more processors 912 can include a modem 940and/or can be part of the modem 940 that uses one or more modemprocessors. Thus, the various functions related to communicationcomponent 198 may be included in modem 940 and/or processors 912 and, inan aspect, can be executed by a single processor, while in otheraspects, different ones of the functions may be executed by acombination of two or more different processors. For example, in anaspect, the one or more processors 912 may include any one or anycombination of a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digitalsignal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or atransceiver processor associated with transceiver 902. In other aspects,some of the features of the one or more processors 912 and/or modem 940associated with communication component 198 may be performed bytransceiver 902.

Also, memory 916 may be configured to store data used herein and/orlocal versions of applications 975 or communicating component 942 and/orone or more of its subcomponents being executed by at least oneprocessor 912. Memory 916 can include any type of computer-readablemedium usable by a computer or at least one processor 912, such asrandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magneticdiscs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and anycombination thereof. In an aspect, for example, memory 916 may be anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or morecomputer-executable codes defining communication component 198 and/orone or more of its subcomponents, and/or data associated therewith, whenUE 104 is operating at least one processor 912 to execute communicationcomponent 198 and/or one or more of its subcomponents.

Transceiver 902 may include at least one receiver 906 and at least onetransmitter 908. Receiver 906 may include hardware and/or softwareexecutable by a processor for receiving data, the code comprisinginstructions and being stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readablemedium). Receiver 906 may be, for example, a radio frequency (RF)receiver. In an aspect, receiver 906 may receive signals transmitted byat least one base station 102. Additionally, receiver 906 may processsuch received signals, and also may obtain measurements of the signals,such as, but not limited to, Ec/Io, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strengthindicator (RSSI), etc. Transmitter 908 may include hardware and/orsoftware executable by a processor for transmitting data, the codecomprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g.,computer-readable medium). A suitable example of transmitter 908 mayincluding, but is not limited to, an RF transmitter.

Moreover, in an aspect, UE 104 may include RF front end 988, which mayoperate in communication with one or more antennas 965 and transceiver902 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, for example,wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 orwireless transmissions transmitted by UE 104. RF front end 988 may beconnected to one or more antennas 965 and can include one or morelow-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 990, one or more switches 992, one or morepower amplifiers (PAs) 998, and one or more filters 996 for transmittingand receiving RF signals.

In an aspect, LNA 990 can amplify a received signal at a desired outputlevel. In an aspect, each LNA 990 may have a specified minimum andmaximum gain values. In an aspect, RF front end 988 may use one or moreswitches 992 to select a particular LNA 990 and its specified gain valuebased on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Further, for example, one or more PA(s) 998 may be used by RF front end988 to amplify a signal for an RF output at a desired output powerlevel. In an aspect, each PA 998 may have specified minimum and maximumgain values. In an aspect, RF front end 988 may use one or more switches992 to select a particular PA 998 and its specified gain value based ona desired gain value for a particular application.

Also, for example, one or more filters 996 can be used by RF front end988 to filter a received signal to obtain an input RF signal. Similarly,in an aspect, for example, a respective filter 996 can be used to filteran output from a respective PA 998 to produce an output signal fortransmission. In an aspect, each filter 996 can be connected to aspecific LNA 990 and/or PA 998. In an aspect, RF front end 988 can useone or more switches 992 to select a transmit or receive path using aspecified filter 996, LNA 990, and/or PA 998, based on a configurationas specified by transceiver 902 and/or processor 912.

As such, transceiver 902 may be configured to transmit and receivewireless signals through one or more antennas 965 via RF front end 988.In an aspect, transceiver may be tuned to operate at specifiedfrequencies such that UE 104 can communicate with, for example, one ormore base stations 102 or one or more cells associated with one or morebase stations 102. In an aspect, for example, modem 940 can configuretransceiver 902 to operate at a specified frequency and power levelbased on the UE configuration of the UE 104 and the communicationprotocol used by modem 940.

In an aspect, modem 940 can be a multiband-multimode modem, which canprocess digital data and communicate with transceiver 902 such that thedigital data is sent and received using transceiver 902. In an aspect,modem 940 can be multiband and be configured to support multiplefrequency bands for a specific communications protocol. In an aspect,modem 940 can be multimode and be configured to support multipleoperating networks and communications protocols. In an aspect, modem 940can control one or more components of UE 104 (e.g., RF front end 988,transceiver 902) to enable transmission and/or reception of signals fromthe network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect, themodem configuration can be based on the mode of the modem and thefrequency band in use. In another aspect, the modem configuration can bebased on UE configuration information associated with UE 104 as providedby the network during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

In an aspect, the processor(s) 912 may correspond to one or more of theprocessors described in connection with the UE in FIG. 3 . Similarly,the memory 916 may correspond to the memory described in connection withthe UE in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , one example of an implementation of base station102 (e.g., a base station 102, as described above) may include a varietyof components, some of which have already been described above, butincluding components such as one or more processors 1012 and memory 1016and transceiver 1002 in communication via one or more buses 1044, whichmay operate in conjunction with modem 1040 and communication component199 for communicating reference signals.

The transceiver 1002, receiver 1006, transmitter 1008, one or moreprocessors 1012, memory 1016, applications 1075, buses 1044, RF frontend 1088, LNAs 1090, switches 1092, filters 1096, PAs 1098, and one ormore antennas 1065 may be the same as or similar to the correspondingcomponents of UE 104, as described above, but configured or otherwiseprogrammed for base station operations as opposed to UE operations.

In an aspect, the processor(s) 1012 may correspond to one or more of theprocessors described in connection with the base station in FIG. 3 .Similarly, the memory 1016 may correspond to the memory described inconnection with the base station in FIG. 3 .

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged.Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and arenot meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” andthe like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for wireless communication,comprising: a transceiver; a memory configured to store instructions;and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the transceiverand the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:generate, by a network entity for one or more user equipments (UEs), adownlink control information (DCI) for modifying a transmission schemeof the one or more UEs, the DCI including at least one hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) process number, wherein each of the at least oneHARQ process number includes a first portion of bits designated forunicast transmissions corresponding to a UE-specific HARQ process numberand a second portion of bits designated for broadcast transmissionscorresponding to a common HARQ process number; and transmit, by thenetwork entity to the one or more UEs, the DCI including the at leastone HARQ process number.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atleast one HARQ process number corresponds to at least one of theUE-specific HARQ process number configured to enable and configure theunicast transmissions or the common HARQ process number configured toenable and configure the broadcast transmissions.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one HARQ process number corresponds to oneor more broadcast-designated bits in addition to a plurality ofunicast-designated bits, the one or more broadcast-designated bitsconfiguring the broadcast transmissions.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the at least one HARQ process number includes a subset of HARQprocess numbers designated for both multicast transmissions and thebroadcast transmissions.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atleast one HARQ process number corresponds to a per-group HARQ processnumber for multicast transmissions.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe DCI includes a HARQ process number field indicating the at least oneHARQ process number based on a type of radio network temporaryidentifier (RNTI).
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the HARQ processnumber field corresponding to a unicast transmission is scrambled by acell RNTI (C-RNTI).
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the HARQprocess number field corresponding to at least one of a multicasttransmission or a broadcast transmission is scrambled by a group RNTI(G-RNTI).
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to: receive, by the network entity from theone or more UEs, a negative acknowledgement (NACK) in response totransmitting the DCI, wherein the NACK indicates that the transmissionscheme of the one or more UEs has not been modified; and retransmit, bythe network entity to the one or more UEs, the DCI including the atleast one HARQ process number based on at least a unicast mode or amulticast mode in response to receiving the NACK.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: determinewhether multiple NACKs are received from a plurality of the one or moreUEs, and wherein the one or more processors configured to retransmit theDCI are further configured to retransmit the DCI using G-RNTI based on adetermination that multiple NACKs are received from the plurality of theone or more UEs.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the DCI includesan indication of the retransmission.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the one or more processors are configured to: determine thatonly a single NACK is received from the one or more UEs, and wherein theone or more processors configured to retransmitting the DCI are furtherconfigured to retransmit the DCI using at least one G-RNTI or C-RNTI.13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DCI indicates that the atleast one HARQ process number is associated with at least one ofmulticast or broadcast data based on determining that the transmissionof the DCI occurred in multicast mode by G-RNTI and a retransmission ofthe DCI occurred in a unicast mode by C-RNTI.
 14. An apparatus forwireless communication, comprising: a transceiver; a memory configuredto store instructions; and one or more processors communicativelycoupled with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to: receive, by a user equipment (UE) from anetwork entity, a downlink control information (DCI) for modifying atransmission scheme of one or more UEs, the DCI including at least onehybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, wherein each ofthe at least one HARQ process number includes a first portion of bitsdesignated for unicast transmissions corresponding to a UE-specific HARQprocess number and a second portion of bits designated for broadcasttransmissions corresponding to a common HARQ process number; and modify,by the UE, the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the atleast HARQ process number.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the atleast one HARQ process number corresponds to the UE-specific HARQprocess number for enabling and configuring the unicast transmissions.16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one HARQ processnumber corresponds to the common HARQ process number for enabling andconfiguring the broadcast transmissions.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the common HARQ process number includes one or morebroadcast-designated bits in addition to a plurality ofunicast-designated bits, the one or more broadcast-designated bitsconfiguring the broadcast transmissions.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the common HARQ process number includes the first portion ofbits designated for the unicast transmissions and the second portion ofbits designated for the broadcast transmissions.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the at least one HARQ process number includes a subsetof HARQ process numbers designated for both multicast transmissions andthe broadcast transmissions.
 20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein theat least one HARQ process number corresponds to a per-group HARQ processnumber for multicast transmissions.
 21. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the DCI includes a HARQ process number field indicating the atleast one HARQ process number based on a type of radio network temporaryidentifier (RNTI).
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the HARQprocess number field corresponding to a unicast transmission isscrambled by a C-RNTI.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the HARQprocess number field corresponding to at least one of a multicasttransmission or a broadcast transmission is scrambled by a G-RNTI. 24.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors areconfigured to: transmit, by the UE to the network entity, a negativeacknowledgement (NACK) in response to receiving the DCI, wherein theNACK indicates that the transmission scheme has not been modified; andreceive, by the UE from the network entity, the DCI including the atleast one HARQ process number based on at least a unicast mode or amulticast mode in response to transmitting the NACK.
 25. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein the DCI indicates that the at least one HARQprocess number is associated with at least one of multicast or broadcastdata based on determining that the transmission of the DCI occurred inmulticast mode by G-RNTI and a retransmission of the DCI occurred in aunicast mode by C-RNTI.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the DCIexplicitly or implicitly indicates that the at least one HARQ processnumber is associated with the at least one of multicast or broadcastdata.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the DCI includes at leastone additional bit or a reserved bit for indicating that the at leastone HARQ process number is associated with the at least one of multicastor broadcast data.
 28. A method of wireless communication, comprising:generating, by a network entity for one or more user equipments (UEs), adownlink control information (DCI) for modifying a transmission schemeof the one or more UEs, the DCI including at least one hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) process number, wherein each of the at least oneHARQ process number includes a first portion of bits designated forunicast transmissions corresponding to a UE-specific HARQ process numberand a second portion of bits designated for broadcast transmissionscorresponding to a common HARQ process number; and transmitting, by thenetwork entity to the one or more UEs, the DCI including the at leastone HARQ process number.
 29. A method of wireless communication,comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, adownlink control information (DCI) for modifying a transmission schemeof one or more UEs, the DCI including at least one hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) process number, wherein each of the at least oneHARQ process number includes a first portion of bits designated forunicast transmissions corresponding to a UE-specific HARQ process numberand a second portion of bits designated for broadcast transmissionscorresponding to a common HARQ process number; and modifying, by the UE,the transmission scheme based on the DCI including the at least HARQprocess number.